The principal of Hou Kong Middle School (Hou Kong) Iao Tun Ieong has made a public apology for the city-wide havoc indirectly caused by the school, but appealed to the public to desist from making accusations against the 12-year-old girl who was infected. The school had organized an exchange trip to Xi’an in late July which resulted in the female pupil and her entire family becoming infected with Delta variant, which led to a string of rigorous border measures and mass testing.
“This incident has caused inconvenience, uneasiness, disturbance and worries to our residents. We apologize to the general public,” Iao acknowledged in an interview with TDM.
However, the principal emphasized that teachers had made an evaluation on safety issues before deciding to set off an outbound trip, which saw 30 members of Hou Kong’s dance group went to Xi’an on July 19.
According to the travel advice from the National Health Commission at the time, all regions of mainland China (with the exception of Ruili) were classified as low-risk areas and travel to these regions was permitted, he added.
“At the time, Xi’an was classified as a low-risk area. So, after a thorough evaluation, we decided to allow our children to take part in the patriotic education,” he explained.
He also took the opportunity to call on the public not to condemn the girl since she has been a “victim” of the outbreak as well.
The Health Bureau previously stated that the 12-year-old pupil is very likely to be the source of the four confirmed cases in the city so far. Nevertheless, Iao reminded the public that not only has the girl fallen ill with coronavirus, but that she is also an innocent victim in the affair.
“We should tend to [her] and care for her, and not let her get hurt again,” he added.
Hou Kong formed a special team to consider how to support the 12-year-old patient through her illness, including arranging counseling for her.
Iao vowed that the school will conform strictly to travel guidelines promulgated by the National Health Commission, and make a more comprehensive review of the pandemic situation in China when planning travel in the future. In addition, the school will not organize journeys to high-risk areas and will minimize external travel.
The school also formulated more stringent anti-pandemic protocols to ensure the safety of all of its teaching staff and students after they return to campus in September.
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